I Got My Headphones!!!!

Alonzo · 8519

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Offline Alonzo

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on: March 20, 2014, 05:53:15 PM
Box was waiting on the stoop when I got home from work.  Takes about an hour or so to put together.  I apologize now, I used some Tantalum instead of stock ( I tried Rikens but they were too big).

My regular headphones are Senn 650 and I'll do an A to B comparison later this weekend.  But for now, these are sounding good, I think "great" is just 50 or so hours away...
Thanks Doc for the kit.  I wanted some closed back phones for my bedroom Crack, this seems to be perfect.
Alonzo

Now where's that DAC I'm needing... :)

Alonzo
Gameroom:>Mainline to HD820, SR45 to Pipette
>BeePree Kaiju & SII to Altec 19 knockoffs
Office:>BH Stat amp to Koss 95x, T20 SET to JBL 4309s
Den:> MorePlay 845 SET to Altec Valencia's


Offline Grainger49

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Reply #1 on: March 21, 2014, 01:15:20 AM
Pictures, please post pictures!



Offline Doc B.

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Reply #2 on: March 21, 2014, 05:01:19 AM
Thanks Alonzo! They do get better with some play time on them.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Alonzo

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Reply #3 on: March 23, 2014, 08:09:33 PM
Grainger,
Sorry for the delay, the weather was b e a u t I f u l, so the wife and I took a drive down to Monterey and just kept going.
I didn't take any assembly pictures.  I tried to make it look as close to the manual as possible.  But here are some assembly notes I remember. 
I hate the wool felt, spent most of the assembly time trying to separate the felt from the paper backing.  Half the time I just pulled it off and used my own glue dots.
I also added another layer of heat shrink for looks.  The adhesive heat shrink pushes glue out when contracting and it cools down to a whitish color.  I just covered it to keep the plugs neat.
A chop stick makes a great "burnisher" for the metal tape.
My stock resistor's weren't matched.  The ones I used as replacements were a little closer to the manuals value.
Here's a phone pic of the finished product.
Alonzo

Alonzo
Gameroom:>Mainline to HD820, SR45 to Pipette
>BeePree Kaiju & SII to Altec 19 knockoffs
Office:>BH Stat amp to Koss 95x, T20 SET to JBL 4309s
Den:> MorePlay 845 SET to Altec Valencia's


Offline Grainger49

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Reply #4 on: March 23, 2014, 11:59:26 PM
Nice work!  The cable looks substantial yet it coils easily. 

Congratulations on the first Bottleheadphone build.



Offline Kris

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Reply #5 on: March 24, 2014, 02:57:06 AM
Congrats Alonzo. Looks cool. Waiting for the comparison you mentioned in your first post.

Out of curiosity... How do you like techflex over Mogami cable? I remember a while back I built headphone cable with techfelx and couldn't stand the "scratchy" sound from techflex every time I moved while listening.
Maybe now-days they make better/different techflex. I'm sure Doc wouldn't go for something that negatively affects sound quality in his design.

Cheers,
Kris
« Last Edit: March 24, 2014, 02:58:37 AM by Kris »



Offline Doc B.

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Reply #6 on: March 24, 2014, 05:05:04 AM
I don't notice any noise from the techflex on these and I haven't in the past with other techflex covered cables. PB does. I suppose that mostly means I sit more still when I listen than PB does. I tend to use headphones for monitoring while recording or for editing video, so I'm not moving around a lot.

It's DIY. So if you don't like techflex, simply leave it off.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Grainger49

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Reply #7 on: March 24, 2014, 05:08:07 AM
Dan... we are both older than PB.



Offline Doc B.

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Reply #8 on: March 24, 2014, 05:49:48 AM
Yes, but it's not about hearing loss. I am capable of hearing the sound that is being discussed. I just don't happen to move around or lay the cable in such a way that it is generated. By the very nature of the way they are applied directly to our head and ears headphones are a very personal thing when it comes to fit and comfort. It's almost impossible to get two people to agree about the fit of a pair of cans. PB and I happen to be at opposite ends of the scale, and we laugh when we pass a pair of cans back and forth. I shrink them down as small as possible because my ears are relatively high on my caveman skull and PB expands them all the way to fit around his huge brain.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #9 on: March 24, 2014, 06:54:17 AM

My stock resistor's weren't matched. 

Not to pick on Alonzo, but just for reference, but the worst case scenario for having mismatched resistors (+10% one way, -10% the other) is just over 1dB of difference, which is generally a lot tighter than the actual pair of drivers used in most headphones.

-PB

Edit - they are actually 5% parts, so I calculate a worst case scenario of 0.7dB.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2014, 06:31:25 AM by Caucasian Blackplate »

Paul "PB" Birkeland

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Offline Alonzo

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Reply #10 on: March 24, 2014, 10:49:14 AM
Ok, I didn't associate resistor value to actual audio difference, my miss.  I'm used to you sending resistors that are usually only .1 or .2  or so off from the value in the inventory list. 

Alonzo
Gameroom:>Mainline to HD820, SR45 to Pipette
>BeePree Kaiju & SII to Altec 19 knockoffs
Office:>BH Stat amp to Koss 95x, T20 SET to JBL 4309s
Den:> MorePlay 845 SET to Altec Valencia's


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #11 on: March 25, 2014, 06:33:23 AM
0.1 or 0.2 Ohms of difference would mean a very low value of resistor.  For a 220 Ohm resistor, a 1% part would give a range of 217.8-222.2.

Having a 220 Ohm that was 0.1-0.2 Ohms off would mean 0.1% tolerance, which is obtainable, but pointless in terms of design goals.

-PB

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Alonzo

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Reply #12 on: March 25, 2014, 07:49:02 AM
You take EVERYTHING literally don't you  ;)  Someone please remember to turn the Engineer off when leaving the building... ;D
They weren't near 220 as I remember and I had replacements in my box.

Alonzo
Gameroom:>Mainline to HD820, SR45 to Pipette
>BeePree Kaiju & SII to Altec 19 knockoffs
Office:>BH Stat amp to Koss 95x, T20 SET to JBL 4309s
Den:> MorePlay 845 SET to Altec Valencia's


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #13 on: March 25, 2014, 08:11:38 AM
It's more that threads heading this direction can lead to lots of e-mails asking for new resistors, so I'm attempting to provide some clear information on the topic so our customers can make a well informed decision.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline mcandmar

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Reply #14 on: March 25, 2014, 08:25:23 AM
Just measured mine and they are a few ohms under 220, but only .8ohms from each other.  Nout wrong with that..

M.McCandless